


Montana's Owls

by Anonymous



Series: A Great Horned Owl [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Tom came home to Sonic almost busting the door off its hinges.He wanted to ask questions, but didn't want to pry. He wanted to be there for the kid, but didn't want to make him uncomfortable.He wanted to let Sonic go through his memories at his own pace.
Relationships: Maddie Wachowski/Tom Wachowski, Sonic the Hedgehog & Tom Wachowski
Series: A Great Horned Owl [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650331
Comments: 7
Kudos: 206
Collections: Anonymous





	Montana's Owls

It was dusk.

Tom was eager to get home. He was able to get out of work early, and it gave him some joy knowing that he’d be coming home to the family’s newest addition— a little blue devil that was always energetic and excited. 

It was a month or two after the Robotnik Incident that had led them all together. It was strange to Tom how the whole ordeal—which included punching a government official in the face, getting shot at by drones and being pushed off of a building— was now just something that happened in their lives, so much so that they could say it was “an incident” and move on. 

Tom shook the thoughts from his head as he parked his new car in the driveway of his house. Finally, he could stop using his sister-in-law’s car.

Tom walked up to the porch steps, but before he could step on the porch, a familiar blur whizzed past him, causing a gush of wind. The blur didn’t stop. He ran all the way inside, almost taking the door off its hinges.

Tom chuckled at Sonic’s eagerness to get back home, but on the other hand, he would have to remind Sonic of being careful with his speed. Implicitly, he internally chided the hedgehog for being out late.

Tom would never have guessed that his life would lead to discovering that Crazy Carl’s Blue Devil was real and that he would be having paternal feelings for the little cryptid. He was a handful, but Tom wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tom walked through the front door before running into Maddie. 

“Hey honey," Tom dropped his smile once he saw Maddie’s worried look. "What’s going on? Where’s Sonic?”

Maddie crossed her arms. “Sonic rushed up to his room,” she sighed.

“Without saying hi?”

Maddie nodded, looking a bit solemn.

“Alright... I’ll talk to him, then,” Tom said, putting his keys down and giving Maddie a quick kiss on the cheek. “He’ll be fine. He probably just crashed on his bed.” It _was_ pretty late for Sonic.

“I’ll start the popcorn,” Maddie said, “although it might be all gone when you finally get downstairs,” she joked.

Tom smiled at her as she left, and he made his way upstairs. He kept an ear out for any fast feet, loud bangs or electricity coming from the attic. 

Although Tom liked to be level-headed, he couldn’t help but worry over Sonic.

“Sonic? You okay, kid?” Tom half-yelled, calling up the attic stairs.

No response. 

“I’m coming up there, alright?” Tom called.

Sonic was laying on his beanbag chair, looking up at the colours of the sunset through the skylight. His eyebrows furrowed together and his arms hugged himself tightly.

“Hey, Sonic. You okay?” Tom said gently.

Sonic snapped his head in Tom’s direction, looking alarmed. 

Tom, still in uniform, was standing by the attic stairs. Sonic discreetly tried to wipe away some of his tears away with his shaky arm. He shook like a leaf.

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright,” he murmured. 

Tom took a second to survey the scene. Sonic usually wasn’t this open about emotional stuff. Physical comfort Sonic had accepted with open arms, but with emotional comfort, the kid often pushed it away and continued to act like his normal, wisecracking self. 

_Maybe he‘s getting used to having someone be there for him,_ Tom thought. But besides, even if Sonic didn’t seem like he was hiding it this time, Tom didn’t want to push him. He knew that Sonic needed to open up and explain at his own pace, but he didn’t want to leave Sonic alone, either. It was apparent to Tom that the kid already had enough of alone time. 

“Alright, are you still on for movie night?” Tom said.

Sonic hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

“Good, ‘cause I think we’re gonna watch Speed again,” Tom lied. They hadn’t really agreed on watching the hedgehog’s favourite movie, but Tom knew Maddie would accept it as long as Sonic would be the normal, happy kid he always is. Sonic didn’t even perk up for his favourite movie. Walking towards Sonic, Tom could notice his teary eyes. 

But before Tom could step any closer, Sonic wistfully smiled and said, “Thanks, Donut Lord.”

Tom stopped in his tracks. “For what?”

“For letting me stay with you guys. It’s just...” 

Sonic trailed off as he blinked away tears. 

“It’s just so nice of you guys to let me into your life, y’know...?” Sonic finished, wiping away some of his tears with his arm.

“Sonic, hey, it’s alright,” Tom said, hurrying to Sonic’s side, kneeling down to his height. Tom couldn’t find the right words to comfort him, so he put his hands around Sonic’s shoulders instead. 

“You know you can always tell me anything, right?” Tom murmured.

Sonic looked up, his eyes a bit red, and nodded acceptingly. He threw himself into Tom’s arms, wrapping his own arms around Tom’s neck.

“Sonic, kiddo, it’s okay...” Tom comforted.

“Just get it all out...”

-

“I went on a run.” 

Sonic was cradled in Tom’s arms, sitting on his lap, separated by a blanket so that Tom wouldn’t be poked by any of his quills. They sat on Sonic’s bed together, Sonic himself emotionally drained and tired from crying. It's been a long, long time since he’s cried. Too long.

“I just felt the need to, y’know? Maddie said it was okay, so... I ran off somewhere west,” Sonic said. 

Tom nodded, a bit worried about the tale Sonic was about to spin. He was already mentally preparing to go out in his car and drive miles and miles just to find whoever or whatever hurt Sonic.

“I ran until I was near this great stretch of land with trees here and there...

And then I saw the bird.” 

Tom looked down at Sonic in confusion.

“...What bird?” Tom asked.

Sonic bit his lower lip. “I think they’re called owls...?” He inflected. “They eat mice and have big eyes.”

Tom nodded. “That’s an owl. Did it attack you or anything?” He asked.

“No, I was...” Sonic took a deep breath. “I was reminded of someone I knew a long time ago.”

_ Oh,  _ Tom thought.  _ This is  _ **_that kind_ ** _ of emotional vulnerability.  _

_ That’s why Sonic didn’t clam up,  _ Tom realized. Sonic had been sitting on this issue for quite a while, instead of newer adjustments like living together with Maddie and Tom. 

He wanted to ask more but stopped himself. This was Sonic’s first time talking about the painful parts of his past and Tom did not want to pry or make Sonic feel uncomfortable. 

Then, Tom remembered a name: _Longclaw_.

At least, he thought Sonic said “Longclaw.” Sonic had mumbled the name while talking to himself in the hotel when they were still on the run from Robotnik. Maybe the owl Sonic remembered was Longclaw? The name sounded magical— something that would come out of an alien world. 

Tom thought he would open that can of worms another day. 

As Sonic shifted in Tom’s arms, Tom gently asked, “Do you want to...talk about it?” 

Sonic looked up at Tom, but quickly made eye contact with the floor.

“I guess.”

_ A better answer than no, _ Tom reminded himself.

“Did they want your powers...? Like Robotnik did?” Tom hesitantly asked.

“No, they weren’t trying to hurt me,” Sonic murmured. For a second, Tom caught the way Sonic flinched, closing his eyes and slightly wincing at what was going through his mind.

It was slight, but it made Tom feel all the more insecure about his words. He wanted to help and reassure Sonic, but he didn’t want to pressure or say the wrong thing.

Sonic sighed and sat up in his bed, which snapped Tom out of his thoughts.

"Is this... about Longclaw?" Tom meekly asked.

“Oh. You heard that...?” He whispered, his throat raw from crying.

“Back at the hotel?”

Sonic nodded with a slightly worried look on his face.

Tom chuckled a bit under his breath. “Your monologue isn’t exactly internal, buddy.” 

Tom’s smile dropped when his comment didn’t cheer up Sonic at all. It wasn’t realistic, but he wished that he could take all of Sonic’s hurt away somehow.  Fear and sadness plagued the little witty hedgehog Tom knew, and he didn't deserve it.

Tom opened his mouth to ask another risky question before Sonic already answered it.

“She was kind of my adopted mother back on my home planet.” 

There was a silence hanging overhead. It was comfortable enough to breathe in, but Tom feared it wouldn’t last long.

“She was always so nice to me.” Sonic smiled at whatever memory was going through his head, but soon the smile faded away. Sonic closed his eyes and flinched at his own thoughts.

“She told me to keep my powers hidden. Then one day a group of echidnas followed me home... and...”

Tom’s eyes widened. He feared he knew what Sonic was going to say next.

“Killed her?” Tom asked softly.

Sonic nodded. He didn’t cry anymore or become angry like Tom thought he would. He just breathed a heavy sigh. _The calm after the storm._

It was unusually quiet for a while. Tom thought about reaching out to hold him for a split second but reminded himself that Sonic was getting used to being physically comforted. Sonic himself continued to look dejected, bowing his head and slightly raising his shoulder in Tom’s direction, as if he didn’t want to be seen as vulnerable all of a sudden.

“Sonic, I’m sorry to hear that,” Tom said. He racked his brain for something else to say for comfort, but Tom worried it would come off as insincere. Tom cursed himself for not knowing what to say.

"I should be able to get over this, right? It's been years. I should be over it,"  Sonic blurted out, blinking away tears. 

_ "Sonic." _

Sonic jumped at Tom's stern tone. Tom immediately flushed with regret at raising his voice at him. He sighed and held his arms open. Sonic hesitantly moved into them, tears pricking his eyes. 

"Is this your first time telling anyone about Longclaw? Alien or human?" Tom held the hedgehog to his chest.

Sonic nodded, sniffling a bit. 

"Don't beat yourself up over this. You've been working through this _alone_ , Sonic. Grief takes a long time, even when you have someone to talk about it with." Tom told him. "Maddie and I will always listen to you and be there for you."

_Maddie,_ Tom remembered. _I'll have to relay all of this to Maddie._

"It feels so good to get that off my chest..." Sonic quietly confessed to himself. 

“How about we go downstairs?" Tom interrupted the comfortable silence. "Maddie and Ozzy are probably waiting for us,” Tom half-smiled.

Sonic gave his own warm heartfelt smile at Tom’s words, a bit of his normal playfulness coming back in his eyes. 

_ There’s the hedgehog I know. _

'Can we watch Speed again?" Sonic innocently asked, looking up at Tom. 

"Of course, buddy."

Sonic beamed wide, parting from the officer's embrace. 

"Go ahead downstairs, I'll be right there."

Sonic speeded downstairs, leaving Tom alone in Sonic’s room.

_Well, that was—_ Sonic came barreling directly into Tom’s chest, squeezing as hard as he could and quickly said,

“I love you, Donut Lord,” before running off downstairs again. 

Tom shook his head, beaming wide as he got up and brushed off the blue hedgehog hair off his uniform. 

_ I think you did pretty well, Wachowski. _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi y’all! its the same anon from Quills! thank you all for the extremely kind comments and all the kudos on my last fic! it made me really glad knowing that my writing was making people happy. so i decided to challenge myself by writing a two-parter! be on the lookout for the next one!  
> enjoy :D


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